Spicy Chocolate Wafers Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, pepper and mustard together in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just combined and lightly fluffy. Beat in the molasses and egg yolk. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix together on low speed until dough is just combined and still crumbly, about 3 minutes. Give dough a few turns with a spatula to bring together.
• Lay out wax paper on a clean work surface and put about 1/3 of the batter on top. Lightly press down and top with another sheet of wax paper. Using your hands or a rolling pin, gently pat into a rectangle. Roll out with a rolling pin until dough is as thin as possible without breaking, no thicker than 1/16 inch thick. This is the key to these cookies: they really can't be too thin. Gently peel back the layer of waxed paper and then replace it loosely.
• Transfer rolled batter to a flat baking sheet and freeze until firm and can easily be peeled away from the waxed paper, about 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Cut dough using a small (2- to 3-inch) fluted round cookie cutter and return to the freezer for 15 minutes to set. Transfer frozen cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until crisp and lightly, evenly colored (but not brown), about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix crumbs and melted butter or margarine until well blended. Press into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Chill until firm.

Steps:

• Place a 12-by-16-inch piece of parchment on a work surface. Spoon dough down center. Fold parchment over dough. Using a ruler, roll and press dough into a tight log. Wrap in parchment; chill at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Unwrap log, and slice into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart.
• Bake wafers until firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer wafers to a wire rack to cool. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Combine butter, sugars and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until light, about 5 minutes, scraping bowl and beaters occasionally. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition.
• While the mixture is beating, sift the cocoa with the flour and salt. Stop mixer, scrape down bowl and beaters and add dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until incorporated.
• Scrape the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Cover with another piece of wrap and press the dough into a rough disk. Refrigerate the dough until it is firm -- several hours or overnight.
• About 20 minutes before you intend to bake the cookies, set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
• Divide the dough into 3 parts and roll one at a time on a lightly floured work surface into a 6-inch square. Cut the dough with a fluted or plain round cutter into nine 2-inch cookies and place them on the prepared pan. Continue with the remaining dough. After rolling all the dough, press the scraps back together and make about 9 more cookies. Pierce the cookies several times with a fork and sprinkle them lightly with granulated sugar.
• Bake the cookies about 20 minutes, until slightly puffed and firm. Cool the cookies on the pan.
• Serve with any creamy or plain dessert, or ice cream. They're also great by themselves. Storage suggestion: Keep the cookies between layers of waxed paper in an air-tight tin or plastic container

Steps:

• Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Mix in egg yolk and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
• Remove half of the dough; set aside. Add cocoa powder to remaining dough; mix on low speed until well combined. Turn out chocolate dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 10-inch log, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Repeat with reserved vanilla dough. Wrap each log in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until slightly firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Press handle of a long wooden spoon into side of chocolate log, making an indentation along its length. Roll handle into and then away from log, creating an apostrophe shape. Repeat with vanilla log. Fit logs together; press lightly to seal. Gently roll into a 2-inch-diameter log. Wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut log into 1/4-inch-thick rounds; space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If dough becomes too soft to slice cleanly, return to freezer until firm.
• Bake until firm to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool.

Steps:

• Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler, over hot water, on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool slightly.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
• In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter.
• Add the vanilla and sugar, and beat to mix well.
• Add the melted chocolate, and beat until incorporated. Then add the light cream or milk and the egg, and beat to mix well.
• On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula, and beating only until incorporated.
• Place the dough on a piece of wax paper, fold the sides of the paper over the dough, and press down on the paper to flatten the dough to a scant 1" thickness.
• Wrap in the waxed paper and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes (no longer or the dough will crack when you roll it out). (However, if you do refrigerate it for longer (even overnight) let it stand at room temperature for about 1 hour before rolling it out.)
• Adjust two racks to divide oven into thirds, and preheat oven to 400.
• Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
• Flour a pastry cloth and place the dough on it. (If you have doubled the recipe, roll only half of the dough at a time.)
• With a floured rolling pin (which should be refloured frequently to avoid sticking), roll the dough out until it is only 1/8" thick (thin). I use a round cookie cutter that is 2 3/4" in diameter. Use any size you like, and cut the cookies as close to each other as possible.
• Place the cookies 1/2" apart on the aluminum foil. (It might be necessary to transfer the cookies from the pastry cloth to the foil with a wide metal spatula. Handle them carefully in order to keep them perfectly round and flat.
• Leftover pieces of the dough should be pressed together and rerolled.
• Bake 2 sheets at a time, for 7-8 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom, and front to back once, to insure even taking.
• Bake until the cookies feel almost firm to the touch.
• These are supposed to be crisp (they will become more crisp as they cool) and they should not be underbaked, but watch them carefully to be sure they do not burn. (If you bake one sheet at a time, bake it on the upper rack.)
• With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks to cool.
• Store in airtight container.

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and optional spices. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugars and vanilla extract and beat on high speed for about one minute until well blended. Beat in the egg white. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Place the dough on wax paper and shape it into a log. Wrap the dough in the paper and fold or twist the ends. Try not to flatten the log. Refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, slice into 1/4 inch thick wafers. Place on the baking sheet spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until the the cookies puff and the tops of the cookies have crackles (ripples). Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for about 10 days The dough spreads but not much, so it could also be rolled flat and refrigerated that way for use with (not very detailed) cookie cutters.